October

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Work

October is U2's second record and was released in October 1981. The band recorded it at Windmill Lane Studios in Dublin, again with Steve Lillywhite. The sessions were chaotic: in the United States a bag containing Bono's lyrics and ideas had gone missing, and he had to make up many lines on the spot. It also mattered that Bono, The Edge and Larry Mullen Jr. were members of a Christian group, the Shalom Fellowship, and doubted whether faith and rock could go together. That even threatened the band's survival.

That faith resounds in Gloria, with a Latin chorus, and in With a Shout (Jerusalem) and Tomorrow. The Edge uses piano for the first time in songs such as I Fall Down and October. In Tomorrow, a lament for Bono's mother, Uilleann pipes are played. The reviews were mixed.

Listening

Track list

1. 1Gloria4:13Apple Music ↗
2. 2I Fall Down3:40Apple Music ↗
3. 3I Threw a Brick Through a Window4:55Apple Music ↗
4. 4Rejoice3:37Apple Music ↗
5. 5Fire3:52Apple Music ↗
6. 6Tomorrow4:40Apple Music ↗
7. 7October2:21Apple Music ↗
8. 8With a Shout (Jerusalem)4:03Apple Music ↗
9. 9Stranger In a Strange Land3:57Apple Music ↗
10. 10Scarlet2:53Apple Music ↗
11. 11Is That All?3:02Apple Music ↗

30-second previews via Apple Music. Listen to the whole album on Apple Music ↗

See also

• U2